Page 75 of Battle of the Bookstores

He takes a step forward, like he’s going to scoop me up in ahug, then seems to think better of it and stays put. Probably a good thing.

“What’s the topic of the panel?” he asks.

“I don’t know yet—they’ll let me know soon. But I’m excited. I’ve been applying for years, and I’ve never made it.”

“We should celebrate,” he says. “We could get drinks—”

“I can’t.” That would be breakingallthe rules. “I, uh…need to run some errands after closing. But thanks for being excited for me.”

His eyes track across my face. “Of course. Congrats again.”

Someone calls his name, and he disappears. I pull out my phone to read the rest of the email about the panel, but then he’s back with one of his employees—a dark-haired woman wearing all black.

“Hey,” Ryan says, sticking his hands in his pockets.

“Ask her,” the woman whispers, poking him.

“I am,” he mutters to her, then turns to me again. “So, uh, I have a question for you.”

My curiosity is piqued. “Okay…?”

“Do you…” He brushes his hair from his face, then mumbles something under his breath about going on a date.

I blink. A flicker of warmth lights in my chest, like a candle being lit. “A…date?”

“Not with me,” he says quickly, and the candle is snuffed out. “We’re hosting a speed-dating night, and Indira”—he motions to the woman in black—“just told me that one of the women canceled.”

Oh.Not with him, obviously. Not that I even want that. Totally against my new rule. So why do I feel…disappointed?

“We can’t have an odd number,” Indira adds. “It’ll mess everything up.”

“You can’t do it?” I ask Indira. There is nothing I’d rather dolessthan struggle through a bunch of conversations with strange men.

“I’m in charge of the event, and I have a girlfriend,” she says, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, I really can’t,” I say to Ryan. “I have to run the store.”

“I’ll watch it for you,” Ryan says.

I bark out a laugh. “You can’t be serious.”

He makes a face like,Excuse me?I didn’t mean he’s incapable of watching my store; I meant,You really want me to meet a bunch of other men?If the situations were reversed, if Ryan was joining a speed-dating event whileIhad to sit a few yards away and listen…

I wouldn’t be so eager. In fact, the thought makes me queasy.

But apparently, it doesn’t bother him one bit. Good to know.

“Fine,” I say eventually. “But nowyouoweme.”

I follow Indira over to Happy Endings, and as I sit down with my first date, a knot tightens in my stomach. I force it down and muster a smile. But I can’t stop wondering:

Why did Ryan ask me to do this?

And why does it bother me so much that he did?

20

Ryan

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